Throughout the evening's poetry, however, the pain of Northern Ireland's troubles, a common theme for Heaney, resonated in his words.
As Heaney closed the reading with selections from Beowulf , his listeners rose in a standing ovation, to which Heaney humbly responded with gestures to sit down.
As the crowd filed out, many stopped to praise the poet.
"I love nothing so much as what he has written on his father and mother," said Robert F. Lyons, a retired teacher. "It has the warmth of the world and the land."
Heaney's readings were equally well received by the younger attendees.
"[Heaney] is amazing when reading his own work," said Helen M. Dimos '03. He is "like a performing actor."
Haviaris, the event's namesake, received praise for his writing and efforts as curator throughout the evening.
"He is the muse's functionary, and has preserved space for his own writings," Heaney said.
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